So earlier this week, I picked up a bag of kelp noodles (the Sea Tangle brand, if you’re wondering), and stuck them in the fridge.
“What the heck are kelp noodles????“, you may be asking? Well, they are just like they sound. They’re made from kelp (seaweed) and have no taste of their own, so they pick up the flavours of everything around them. I had kelp noodles for the first time over the holidays at a local raw and vegan restaurant (on my Rawlicious date with Ash, yum) in a raw Pad Thai dish, and adored their crunchy texture, so they needed to come home with me!
And of course, they needed to be turned into my own raw & vegan Pad Thai for my lunch.
The fabulous Ashley had gifted me a wonderful cookbook for the holidays: Ani’s Raw Food Essentials by the inspirational Ani Phyo (have you seen her collard wraps? Yum! They are next on my “To Make” list).
In fact, Ash gifted me with the cookbook at Rawlicious! So of course, I was excited and inspired to try out a whole bunch of raw recipes at home! Luckily, there was a recipe for a Pad Thai (right on page 227).
The finished product? Delicious. Although I’m not sure I’m going to call it Pad Thai — I’d prefer to describe it just as it is: a delicious cold noodle salad with a spicy almond dressing. Yum.
If you aren’t trying to go 100% raw, feel free to use cashews or a mix of other nuts in place of the almonds.
And if you can’t find kelp noodles, you can order online (from Upaya Naturals) the same brand as I get at my local health food shop. Or this same salad would be great with cooked soba noodles, rinsed under cold water. You could even just have the dressing on greens. Whichever you choose, enjoy it!
Raw Vegan Kelp Noodle Pad Thai (a.k.a. Noodle Salad with a Spicy Almond Dressing)
Adapted from Ani Phyo’s Pad Thai with Kelp Noodles from Ani’s Raw Food Essentials, Serves 4
- 1/4 c. almond butter or 1/2 c. almonds
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 small chili pepper, seeds removed & finely chopped (or 1-2 tsp. dried red chili flakes)
- 1 Tbsp. tamari
- the juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 c. – 3/4 c. water
- 1 (16 oz) package kelp noodles, rinsed & drained
- 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 big handful of fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
In a blender, combine almond butter or almonds, coconut oil, garlic, chili pepper, tamari, and lemon juice. Add 1/4 c. of water and blitz well. You may need to add more water (a little at a time) to get this to a consistency that is thin enough to drizzle.
In a large bowl, combine the kelp noodles with the dressing. Add the zucchini, onion, cilantro, and toss to combine.
Serve cold and enjoy!
Kitchen Operas 
That looks amazing. I make a similar dish, also served cold. I will definitely have to try this one!
I am DYING to try kelp noodles! I don’t think we can buy them here, except for muchos pennies online, but perhaps i’ll just make a raw carrot/zucchini base and whip up the sauce! Looks divine.
Katey — this would be indeed awesome with the carrot/zucchini base. If you do the veg really thin, they’ll be noodle like and delicious!!!! The slightly crispy factor will make them so much like the kelp noodles.
You could top it with some crushed almonds (or cashews if you’re not going raw right now… you need to blog again so I can stalk you and know what you eat!) and it would be a gorgeous salad of goodness.
PS. The kelp noodles go a long way, and you can easily mix them with veggies/shredded cabbage/etc. to get them to go further. My 16 oz pack was enough for 4 good servings, so you could easily stretch out a package to 8-12 servings by adding lots of veg. 🙂
Oooh awesome ideas – I bought almond butter today so I see this recipe in my future!
I actually thought of you when I made this one!! 🙂
Thanks for introducing me to vibrant raw foods!
Update: am eating this as we speak and ITS LIKE A PARTY IN MY MOUTH! Delicious Lindsay!
Katey — glad you love it!!!!! I found it was even better after a day in the fridge!!
🙂
I’m definitely going to make this again!
Kelp noodles! You get such cool stuff over there. I’m going to have to try this dressing on some rice noodles, sounds lovely!
Hope you like it — I think it would be GREAT on rice noodles!
Hey Lindsay, This looks delicious! Did you buy the kelp noodles in Toronto? Do you know where I could find them here? Thanks!
I did indeed get them in Toronto, from the Big Carrot at Chester/Danforth.
You can also get them online from the shop of my favourite nutritionista, Meghan Telpner: http://meghantelpner.com/product/kelp-noodles/
Sweet! Thanks for the quick reply! 🙂
I wish it was possible to make a copy of this wonderful recipe which I just made and loved every bite, without having to print else on this page!
Hey Gale–
Thanks for the feedback. I’ve been looking into a print-friendly option, and it requires going back and retyping every blog post. I’m still trying to investigate a better way.
Hi Lindsay! Looks great! Where did you buy your kelp noodles? I was thinking I would have to order them, but it would be so much easier to pick ’em up at a grocery store…
🙂
I got mine at The Big Carrot (Danforth and Chester), yum! I buy a few packs at once because they last quite a while!
This sounds so great! I’ve never heard of kelp noodles and will have to order some online!!